Tobacco-stringing machine.



0. G. WELLS.

TOBACCO STRINGING MAGHlNE.

APPLIOATION FILED DBO. 24, 1909. 9321 5 9 Patented Oct/l, 1910.

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G. G. WELLS.

TOBACCO STRINGING MACHINE.

APPLICATION TILED D2014, .1909.

Patentd 0ct.4,1910.

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CHARLES G. VJELLS, OF ROCKYI-IILL, CONNECTICUT.

TOBACCO-STRINGING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 24, 1909.

Patented Get. 4, 1910.

Serial No. 534,787.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES Gr. WVELLs, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Rockyhill, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and Improved. Tobacco-StringingMachine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of devices above named, and the objectof the invention is to provide a device of this class having novelfeatures of advantage and utility. I

One form of apparatus embodying my invention and in the use of which theobjects sought may be attained is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a device embodying myinvention with parts broken away to show construction and the needlebeing shown as near the end of its path of movement backward. Fig. 2 isa view in front elevation of the same, with parts broken away to showconstruction. Fig. 3 is a detail view on enlarged scale of one of theleaf supporting arms. Fig. -1- is a like View of one of the clamp arms.Fig. 5 is a detail view on enlarged scale of a portion of the deviceshowing its manner of operation, the locking bolt feature being omittedas unnecessary to an understanding of the operation illustrated. Fig. 6is a detail view on enlarged scale in section through a portion of theneedle carrying wheel. Fig. 7 is a detail view showing a slightlydifferent form of construction of the clamping parts.

In the accompanying drawings the numeral 6 denotes a base constructed ofany suitable material and of any desired form to properly receive thespecial construction of apparatus which may be placed thereon. This basemay be supported in any suitable manner, as shown herein it beingadapted to be secured to a bench or other support, semipermanently as bymeans of screws, nails or the like, passed through openings 7 in thebase. A crank shaft 8 having acrank handle 9 is mounted at one end ofthe base, a bevel pinion 10 on the crank shaft meshing with a bevel gear11 secured to a driving wheel 12 mounted with its axis arrangedvertically on the base. A needle carrying wheel 13 is also mounted withit axis vertically arranged on the base, each of these wheels having twogrooves 14, one of said grooves 15 in the wheel 13 having a needlegroove 16 at the bottom thereof. Straps 17 are secured to each of thewheels 12, 13, a strap being located in each of said grooves 14 in eachof the wheels and so arranged that when the driving wheel 12 is rotatedin one direction one of the straps will exert a pull upon the wheel 13causing its rotation in an opposite direction, and the opposite strapwill, be pulled by the wheel 13 from the wheel 12, and in a movement ofthe wheel 12 in the opposite direction, the action of the straps will bereversed.

A flexible needle bar 18 is mounted in the groove 16 in the wheel 13,this bar lying under one of the straps 17. The end 19 of the bar isformed into a hook. In the form of construction herein shown this needlebar passes in contact with guide rollers 20 and through a. slot in aguide post 21. The guide rollers are mounted upon posts 22 secured tothe base.

A support 23 extends from the base, in the construction herein shownthis support being secured to a block 24: rising from the base. A seriesof leaf supporting arms 25 are secured to the support and arranged atsuitable intervals lengthwise therealong, these arms projecting beyondthe front edge of the support and having stem recesses 26. Needleopenings 27 are formed through the arms near their ends for the passageof the needle these openings extending into the stem recesses. Cordslots 52 extend. from the ends of the bars into the needle openings 27.Clamp arms 28 are each movably supported with respect to a leafsupporting arm, in the preferred form of construction and as shownherein each of these arms being pivotally mounted upon the support 23.Springs 29 hold the clamp arms against the leaf supporting arms.

The stem recesses hcreinabove described may if desired be located on theclamp arms instead of the leaf supporting arms, but in the preferredform of construction and as Cir shown herein a portion of these recessesare located on each of said arms, every alternate leaf supporting armand every alternate clamping arm having such a recess.

A releasing bar 30 is mounted on the edge of the support 23 and has asliding movement permitted by screws 31 located in slots 32 extendingthrough the bar. The springs 29 are secured to the support 23 and exerta yielding pressure upon the clamp arms sufficient to hold a leafsuspended between the two arms. Releasing pins 33 are secured to thereleasing bar 30, one of these pins being located to operate upon eachof the clamp arms. Any suitable means for operating the releasing barmay be employed, but I prefer to operate it from a moving part of thedevice. A satisfactory construction for accomplishing the result isshown herein in which a lever is mounted upon a pin 3 1 secured upon adepressed portion 35 in the block 24:. This lever consists of a cam arm36 extending underneath the rim of the wheel 13, and a nose 37 engaginga re cess 38 in the bar 30. A spring 39 is employed to hold the lever inengagement with the shoulder formed by the recess 38. A cam 10 securedto the under side of the wheel 13 is located in position to operate thelever at proper times.

In the construction herein shown each of the clamp arms has a post 11forming its pivot, which post extends into the support 23 and the end ofeach bar is recessed as at 42 to allow passage of the needle in theoperation of the device. A locking bolt 43 is mounted at the end of thesupport 23 in position to engage a locking recess 41st in the bar 30, aspring 45 being employed to normally hold the bolt in engagement withthe recess.

Brackets 416 project from the leaf supporting arm at the end of thesupport 23, these brackets each having a recess 4:7 for the reception ofa cord 48 secured to the end of a lath 19.

In the operation of the machine the bolt &3 being engaged with therecess 44 in the locking bar, is first disengaged, and the stems 50 ofleaves are located one between each pair of arms consisting of a clampand a leaf supporting arm, the stem of the leaf being located in therecess as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The lath t9 is laid acrossthe ends of the arms 25 as shown in Fig. 5, the end of the cord as beingplaced in the recesses 47 in the brackets tti, the ex treme end of thecord being located at some little distance beyond the bracket. The crankhandle 9 being turned to rotate the driving wheel 12 in the directionindicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, the wheel 13 is rotated in thedirection also indicated by the arrow in said figure. This causes theneedle to be forced through the stems of all of the leaves, passingthrough the needle openings 27 each of which, as shown by dotted linesin Fig. 1, is beveled as at 51 to guide the needle in its travel. lVhenthe needle reaches the end of its travel its point engages the cord nearits free end. By now reversing the movement of the driving wheels 12 and13 the needle is withdrawn from the stems, in this withdrawing movementpulling the cord through all of the stems, as illustrated in Fig. 5. Asit withdraws from the last stem the cord also withdraws from the needlepoint. As the wheel 13 approaches the end of its movement, at about theposition shown in Fig. 1, but moving backward, the cam 40 engaging thecam arm 36 moves it and the bar 30 backward until the bolt 13 shootsinto the recess &4 holding the bar in this position, thus opening theclamp arms 28 and releas ing the leaves, which, however, are held by thecord on the lath. The end of the cord being now grasped it is passed outthrough the slots 52 in each of the'supporting arms, carrying the leaveswith it, and its free end is made fast to the end of the lath, thussuspending the leaves from the cord on the lath. 7

It will be noted that the strap or belt 17 overlying the needle bar inthe groove 16 holds said bar rigidly within the groove, thus preventingbucking action of the bar that would otherwise occur by reason of theresistance to the entry of the bar into the stems, and between the firstpair of arms and the wheel 13 the needle is prevented from buckling bythe location of the rollers 20 on opposite sides thereof. In the initialmovement of the wheel 13 the cam 40 engages the lever 36 moving the nose37 out of the recess 38 and without affecting the bar.

I do not limit my invention and the scope of the following claims to thedevices of the foregoing illustrations and descriptions of the preferredform in which it is embodied, as these may be departed from to a greateror lesser extent without avoiding the invention.

The releasing bar is shown herein as about square in cross-section, butI contemplate making this bar quite thin, and of just sufficientthickness to receive the pins 33 and provide for the recess 38'.

While I have shown the needle bar as round in cross-section, I havefound very satisfactory results to flow from one of a rectangular shapein cross-section.

The form of the device as shown in Fig. 7 is similar to that hereinshown and de scribed with the exception that instead of mounting thesprings 53 for the clamp arms 28 upon the support 23 these springs aresecured to the releasing bar 30. The locking bolt in this constructionholds the bar with the springs 53 pressed against the arms 28, therecess in the end of the bar being arranged to permit this function andwhen the bar is designed for mechanical operation the parts will ofcourse be arranged to cause engagement of the locking bolt at the propertime to exert the function above set out.

I claim 1. A needle supporting wheel having a needle groove, a needlebar located within said groove and flexible to wrap about the wheel,means for rigidly holding the needle within the groove, means forsupporting articles in position to be pierced by said needle, and meansfor rotating the wheel.

2. A needle supporting wheel having a strap groove and a needlegroove, aflexible needle bar located in the needle groove, a strap located in thestrap groove overlying the bar and rigidly holding it in place, meansfor supporting articles to be pierced by said needle, and means forexerting a pull upon said strap to rotate the needle supporting wheel.

3. A needle supporting wheel having a strap groove and a needle groove,a flexible needle bar located in the needle groove, a driving wheelsupported in operative relation to the needle supporting wheel, a straplocated in said strap groove overlying the needle bar and rigidlyholding it in place, the end of said strap being secured to the drivingWheel, means for rotating the driving wheel, and means for supportingarticles to be pierced by said needle.

4:. A needle supporting wheel and a driving Wheel each having a pair ofgrooves and with a needle groove in the bottom of one of said grooves inthe needle supporting wheel, a strap secured within a groove in eachwheel and with its end secured in a groove in the opposite wheel, aflexible needle bar located in said needle groove underlying the straptherein, means for rotating the wheels, and means for supportingarticles to be pierced by said needle.

5. A needle supporting wheel having a needle groove, a flexible needlebar located within said groove, means for rigidly holding the needlewithin the groove, a driving wheel supported in operative relation tothe needle supporting wheel, a strap secured to both wheels to rotatethe needle supporting wheel in one direction when the driving wheel isrotated, means for rotating the needle supporting wheel in the oppositedirection, means for rotating the driving wheel, and means forsupporting an object to be pierced by said needle.

6. A reciprocating needle bar having a pointed hooked end, means forreciprocating the bar, means for supporting articles to be pierced bysaid needle, and a bracket including members spaced to receive theneedle therebetween, said bracket being located ad.- jacent to the endof the path of travel of the needle and arranged to support a cord inthe path of said needle.

7. A needle bar with means for reciproeating it, means for supportingarticles to be pierced by said needle, a cord supporting bracketincluding arms spaced apart to receive the point of the needle betweenthem, said bracket being supported at the end of the path of travel ofthe needle, and said members of the bracket having recesses to receive acord to support it in position to be engaged by the needle in itsbackward travel.

8. A needle supporting wheel, a flexible needle supported about theperiphery of said wheel, means for supporting articles to be pierced bysaid needle, and means for rotating said wheel.

9. A needle supporting wheel, a flexible needle supported about theperiphery of said wheel, means for supporting articles to be pierced bysaid needle, a strap secured to said wheel to rotate it in onedirection, means for rotating the wheel in the opposite direction, andmeans for exerting a pull upon said strap.

10. A needle supporting wheel, a flexible needle supported about theperiphery of said wheel, means for supporting articles to be pierced bysaid needle, a driving wheel, a strap secured to both wheels to rotatethe needle supporting wheel in one direction when the driving wheel isrotated, means for rotating the needle supporting wheel in the oppositedirection, and means for rotating the driving wheel.

11. A needle supporting wheel, a flexible needle bar supported by saidwheel, a driving wheel, two straps secured to said wheels and arrangedto rotate the needle supporting wheel in opposite directions when thedriving wheel is rotated in opposite directions, means for rotating thedriving wheel, and means for supporting articles to be pierced by saidneedle.

12. A needle supporting wheel, a flexible needle bar supported by saidWheel, a driving wheel, two straps each secured to both of said wheelsand extending in opposite directions on each wheel, means for rotatingthe driving wheel, and means for supporting an article to be pierced bysaid needle.

13. An article supporting arm having a passage for a needle and means topermit removal of a cord therefrom, a clamp arm movably mounted to clampan article against said supporting arm, means for exerting pressure uponthe clamp arm, means for mechanically releasing said pressure, a

reciprocating needle bar, and means for reciprocating the bar.

14. An article supporting arm having a passage for a needle and means topermit removal of a cord, an arm movably mounted and arranged to clampan article against said supporting arm, means for exerting pressure uponthe clamp arm, a sliding bar arranged to move the clamp arm away fromthe supporting arm, and means for locking said bar to hold said armsseparated.

15. An article supporting arm having a passage for a needle and means topermit removal of a cord, an arm movably mounted and arranged to clampan article against said supporting arm, means to rexerting pressure uponthe clamp arm, a sliding bar arranged to move the clamp arm, means forlocking the bar with the arms separated, and means upon a moving part ofthe device to move said bar.

16. An article supporting arm having a passage for a needle and means topermit removal of a cord therefrom, an arm movably mounted and a springto exert pressure thereon, a movable member operatively connected withone of said parts, a needle bar, and means for reciprocating the needlebar.

17. An arm arranged to support an article and having a passage for aneedle and means to permit removal of a cord therefrom, a clamp armhaving a passage for a needle opening out at the end of the arm, meansfor causing pressure of the clamp arm upon the supporting arm, areciprocating needle, and means for reciprocating the needle.

18. A set of supporting devices each including an article supporting armand a clamp arm, one of said arms having a passage forming a guide for aneedle with means to permit removal of a cord therefrom and said clamparms being movable each independently of another, means for exertingpressure upon the clamp arms, means for simultaneously relieving saidpressure from all of the article supporting arms, a reciprocatingneedle, and means for reciprocating the needle.

19. A set of article supporting devices each including an articlesupporting arm and a clamp arm, one having a guide passage for a needleand means to permit removal of a cord therefrom and said clamp armsbeing movable each independently of another, means for exerting pressureto clamp an article between said arms, means for simultaneouslyrelieving the pressure from all of said devices, a reciprocating needle,and means for reciprocating the needle.

20. A set of article supporting devices each including a supporting armand a clamp arm, one having a guide passage for a needle and means topermit removal of a cord, means for exerting pressure upon the clamparms, a sliding bar having means to relieve the pressure of said springsupon the article supporting arms, means for operating the bar, areciprocating needle, and means for reciprocating the needle.

21. A. set of devices for supporting articles each device including anarticle supporting arm and a clamp arm, one having a guide passage for aneedle and means to permit removal of a cord therefrom, springs mountedto exert pressure one upon each clamp arm, a sliding bar, means forlocking the bar in a position to exert force upon said arms, areciprocating needle bar, and means for reciprocating the needle bar.

22. An article supporting arm having a passage for a needle and means topermit removal of a cord therefrom, a clamp arm, a sliding bar tocooperate with said clamp arm, a spring supported to exert pressureagainst the clamp arm, means for locking the bar against movement, areciprocating needle bar, and means for reciprocating the bar.

23. An article supporting arm having a passage for a needle, an armmovably mounted and arranged to clamp an article against said supportingarm, means for exerting pressure against the clamp arm, and a slidingbar arranged to control the pressure against the clamp arm.

2s. A set of devices for supporting articles each device including anarticle supporting arm and a clamp arm, each of said clamp arms actingindependently to permit insertion of an article between the arms, areciprocating needle bar arranged to pierce the articles held by saidarms, and means for reciprocating the needle bar.

25. A set of devices for supporting articles each device including anarticle supporting arm and a clamp arm, means for exerting pressure uponthe clamp arms, each clamp arm being movable independently to permitinsertion of an article between said arms, means for simultaneouslyreleasing the hold of all the clamp arms, a reciprocating needle bar,and means for operating said needle bar.

26. An article supporting arm having a passage for a needle, a clamparm, a reciprocating needle bar, a member movable to reciprocate saidneedle bar, a slide to release he pressure of said clamp arm, andconnections between said slide and movable memher to actuate the former.

27. An article supporting arm having a passage for a needle, a clamparm, means for exerting pressure upon the clamp arm, a slide supportedto actuate the clamp arm, a reciprocating needle bar, a rotating memberto actuate said needle bar, and a connection between the slide androtating member to actuate said slide.

28. A set of devices for supporting articles each device including anarticle supporting arm and a clamp arm, means for exerting pressure uponsaid clamp arms, a sliding bar arranged to actuate each of the clamparms, a reciprocating needle bar, a rotating member to reciprocate saidbar, and connections between said slide and rotating member to actuatethe slide.

29. A set of devices for supporting articles each device including anarticle supporting arm and a clamp arm, means for 15 exerting pressureupon the clamp arms, a sliding bar supported to actuate the clamp arms,a needle supporting Wheel, a flexible needle supported upon theperiphery of said Wheel, means for rotating the Wheel to cause 20 theneedle to pierce articles held by said arms, and connections betweensaid wheel and sliding bar to actuate the latter.

CHARLES e. WELLS.

Vitnesses ARTHUR B. JENKINS, LENA E. BERKOVITCH.

